


Glimpses

by itsthosewinchestersagain



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 05:02:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6142327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsthosewinchestersagain/pseuds/itsthosewinchestersagain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little glimpses at Sam & Dean's relationship throughout their life</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glimpses

—— _Sam is 4, Dean is 8_ —–

“Dad, he took my comic book,” Dean complained, trying and failing to reach to the other side of Sam while remaining buckled in his seat.

Sam stuck out his tongue as John answered from the front seat, “Dean, just let him look. Sam, don’t mess up your brother’s book.”

Dean huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his head back in frustration before closing his eyes against the afternoon sun.

They hadn’t been on the road long when the steady hum of the Impala rolling over the highway easily soothed Sam to sleep. Dean still had his eyes closed and was humming along to the radio when he felt his little brother’s body slump into his side as the engine rumbled on. Dean stilled for a moment, wrestling between shoving his little brother away (inevitably waking him up) and adjusting so Sam was more comfortable. Dean smiled softly as Sammy wriggled his own body in his sleep so that he was fully leaning into Dean’s side, his little hands grabbing fistfuls the fabric of Dean’s shirt as he slept.

Dean put an arm around Sammy, brushing his brother’s hair absentmindedly for a moment before leaning his head back again, humming along to the radio.

—– _Sam is 10, Dean is 14_ —–

The darkness loomed around them. Sam nervously fidgeted in his seat as his fingers rubbed worried circles on the hem of his shirt. Dean sat next to Sam in the backseat, gripping a handgun tightly in his palm.

“Dean, when’s Dad coming back?” Sam asked quietly.

Dean’s eyes flitted to Sam’s, taking note of his anxiousness and the way he was biting his lip. “Soon. He’s just wrapping up in there,” Dean nodded to the building across the street.

A series of gun shots rang out from inside the building and Dean turns to catch the flashes of the last two through the dirty windows.

Sam jumped and quickly turned towards Dean for reassurance. Bending his legs underneath him he scooted closer to his big brother, letting their sides rest against each other. Sam’s lip was trembling and his eyes were welling up with tears.

Dean let out a breath, “Damn it, Dad.” He glanced toward the exit of the building before pushing his handgun underneath his thigh. He pulled Sam into him, curling his arms around his little brother, “C’mere Sammy. It’s alright. I’m sure Dad will be out in a minute.”

Sam nodded but the tears spilled down his face nonetheless. Dean sighed and pulled Sam in a little tighter, one hand on his back rubbing comforting circles as the other slowly carding through Sam’s hair.

“You always make me feel safe, Dean,” Sammy whispered into his big brother’s chest.

—– _Sam is 13, Dean is 17_ —–

“So, get this,” Sam started excitedly. He folded the newspaper flat on the motel room table, pointing at the article as Dean looked over his shoulder. “There’ve been eight recent disappearances in this town and there’s also been a bunch of home-invasions. No theft at any of them, though. That’s gotta be something, right? Did I find one Dean?” Sam finished eagerly.

Dean frowned slightly, resting his hands on the table and leaning forward to read the article for himself. When he finished, he gave Sam a nod.

Sam’s couldn’t hold back his excitement and his face broke into a large grin, dimples finding their way to his face. “Do you think we can go there next?”

Dean smiled inwardly at Sam’s enthusiasm. “Dad’s finishing up in town, but then I don’t see why not. I don’t think he has another case lined up yet,” Dean admitted.

Sam nodded in agreeance before something in his face shifted. He chewed at his bottom lip for a moment before looking up at Dean again, “Do you think he’ll let me go this time?”

Dean shrugged his shoulders and rested his hand on top of Sammy’s head lovingly, “Maybe.”

—– _Sam is 17, Dean is 21_ —–

The brothers laid shoulder to shoulder on the motel bed’s musty comforter. John immediately went to the bathroom when they had returned, and the water could be heard streaming in the shower.

Sam reached up to his face and started picking at some of the dried blood he found on his cheek. Dean stared at the ceiling, trying to both understand and forget what he had just done.

Sam started quietly, “Dean, you did what you had to do. If you hadn’t, I might be dead.” He felt his brother nod his head slightly.

“I know,” Dean managed, his voice cracking in the middle. “I just… I thought I wasn’t gonna get to you fast enough Sammy,” he admitted, rolling onto his side to face his brother.

Sam rolled over to mirror his brother. “But you did Dean. You did. You saved me. Not Dad, you.”

Dean nodded, “We shouldn’t have even been there that long. It was supposed to be quick and easy. I just don’t understand how we missed the foreman.” Dean’s eyes clouded for a moment as he thought back to hunt. He snapped back to reality as Sam leaned up on his elbow in front of him.

“Dean, I just know there has to more to life than this,” he said angrily, gesturing around to the dirty motel room. “There has to be more than just hunting.”

“We’re saving people Sammy. C’mon, you know that. You know what we do is important.”

“We’re risking our lives to save people we don’t really know, who will never really know us. Shouldn’t we live our lives for the people we actually care about?” Sam finished softly, reaching up to run his hand along the side of Dean’s face.

Dean reached up and held Sam’s hand to his face, nuzzling into it slightly. “You know that I wish it was that simple.”

Sam nodded, biting his lip thoughtfully before he wiggled into Dean’s body. “Hold me until he finishes?” Sam asked.

Dean hummed his agreement, pulling Sam into him and throwing his leg over his little brother’s body. His hands found their way to Sam’s hair, tangling themselves in place, as Sam’s hands slid up under his brother’s shirt and up his back.

—– _Sam is 24, Dean is 28_ —–

“We’ll figure this out Dean, we always do,” Sam said encouragingly. His brother sat in front of him on the other motel bed, his head slumped forward in his hands.

“Even if we don’t, you deserve way more that this, Sam… more than this life. I could never live knowing that there was something I could have done to save you. I had to do it, Sammy,” he looked up his little brother, willing the tears in his eyes to not spill over.

Seeing this, Sam quickly moved to Dean’s side, pulling him in close. “Dean I can’t live without you, either. You’re all I have. We will find a way out of this, even if we have to run forever. I’m not giving you up, you hear me?”

Dean choked a sob back as he nodded, turning into his brother’s torso and snaking his arms around his waist. Sam rubbed his hand up and down Dean’s back and played with the little hairs and the nape of Dean’s neck while murmuring soft words of comfort.

After Dean had calmed down a little, he leaned back enough to look Sam in the face. His eyes were red from crying, but he had a soft smile on his face. “How did you get to be so strong Sammy? I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you, I’m your big brother after all.”

Sam grinned at Dean and spoke proudly, “I learned from the strongest man I know. But Dean, you don’t have to be the strong one all the time. We can be strong for each other.”

Dean’s eyes welled up again and he leaned his forehead against Sam’s as he grabbed the sides of his brother’s face, “I love you Sammy.”

“I love you, too, Dean.”

—– _Sam is 32, Dean is 36_ —–

Dean flicked the overhead light off and felt his way around the room. He settled on the couch with a heavy sigh and tried to sift through his thoughts in the dark.

He must’ve drifted off, because we woke up when he felt his brother on the couch next to him. Sam lifted Dean’s arm and placed his body squarely next to Dean’s, draping his big brother’s arm around his shoulders. Dean turned into him, wrapping his other arm securely around Sam’s waist.

Sam sighed slightly, “You’re not in this alone, Dean. Stop trying to shoulder the weight of of the world when I’m right here trying to take half of it from you.”

Dean sighed into the top of his brother’s head before placing a soft kiss there. “I know you’re right, Sammy. I just don’t want you to worry about any of this, you shouldn’t have to. I started this.”

Sam shook his head indignantly, “We started this. Dean, you and me. We started this and we’ll end it. We always have.”

The brothers clung to each other silently in the dark for a few moments, just enjoying the closeness of one another.

Sam shifted, pulling up the blanket from the other end of the couch. He rolled on his side, facing Dean and the back of the couch. He let his head rest in Dean’s lap as he curled the blanket around himself, looking up into his brother’s eye’s in the near darkness. The soft glow from the kitchen down the hall was the only light dusting Dean’s features, making him seem softer than he was.

Dean stared down into his brother’s face and let his arm rest around Sam’s chest, his other hand finding its way to Sam’s hair. As he carded his fingers through his little brother’s locks, Sam made a soft noise of contentment and snuggled closer to Dean.

Both brothers lost track of the time they spent together on the couch, content in the comforting presence of one another.

When Dean’s hand slowed and then stilled, Sam whispered up at him so as to not wake him, “I love you Dean. More than I love life. If this was all life ever was, this moment here with you, I’d be the happiest man alive.”

Sam closed his eyes. He was nearly asleep when he heard Dean whisper, “I love you, too, Sammy.”


End file.
